Arts in the One World Conference Begins at CalArts Next Week

Arts in the One World Conference begins next week at CalArts.

CalArts School of Theater and the International Genocide Study Center (IGSC) in Kigali, Rwanda, present the fifth annual Arts in the One World Conference next week (Jan. 21-24) at the Institute's Valencia, Calif., campus. Coordinated by Leslie Tamaribuchi, Interim Co-Dean of the Theater School, the conference is meant to foster dialogue between cultures and explore the uses of the arts in times of extremity.

This year's theme focuses on the Kinyarwanda term guhahamuka ("the breathless attempt to articulate the inexpressible") which, sadly, has been used widely since the Tutsi genocide.

From the conference materials, here's how the programs and theme were developed:

We invite presentations, performances, and workshops that demonstrate how survivors, artists, and scholars give testimony and bear witness to circumstances of conflict and social injustice, opening imaginative space for participation in the recovery of historical memory and social renewal. We will consider together how these articulations represent experiments in interdisciplinary public practice, expanding the models for being an artist/activist in the world.

The Arts in the One World Conference is a local manifestation of the artistic exchange CalArts conducts with the IGSC, where each summer a group of students, faculty, and professionals travel to Rwanda and Uganda, to study genocide and acts of mass violence, exploring the ways in which art participates in processes of renewal.

The conference's opening sessions will include presentations from several students, alumni and staff who've participated in the CalArts Exchange in Rwanda/Uganda:

Alumni Darius Manino and Emily Mendelsohn will serve as moderators;

Cristina Frias (MFA candidate) will present on the International Performance Festival in Kigali;

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24700 is CalArts' online space dedicated to sharing news and work of the larger CalArts community from around the world. The blog captures stories of the exploration of new forms and expressions in the arts by our students, faculty, staff and alumni.